Kirlian photography is a process that electrifies an object to produce an image on photographic film or paper, without the use of light. The photosensitized material records multicolored emanations from the object, which are referred to as auras or biofields. The Russian inventor Semyon Kirlian pioneered the process in 1939.

Some experimenters believe that the photographs give physical form to psychic energy. Others believe that it reveals the etheric body, one of the layers of the aura thought to permeate all animate objects. Many believe the image to be linked to the “life force” that surrounds each living thing. Some even use it to make health care decisions.

In the summer of 2006, I set out to make a Kirlian Device, armed with downloaded electrical instructions from the
internet. Upon completion of the device, I solicited colleagues to submit objects of personal significance to be tested. How would the level of significance manifest itself in the recorded aura?

Click below to explore the device itself, which is intended as a functional, sculptural object, and some of the resulting images. The images are also collected in books, contained within the device itself.